Quote:
Originally Posted by drolston
I use a battery powered impact wrench. It has three power settings.
Start with the lowest setting. Give it 1 second burst of tighten, followed by two second loosening. Go through that routine maybe five times. If does not work, go up one power setting and repeat the routine. And again.
I wrung off 7 head bolts on the driver's side using a long bar and brute force. Bought the impact wrench and all 24 came off of the passenger side cleanly, using the above technique.
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This. Impacts knock the nut/bolt loose... and is FAR more effective than simply pulling on a breaker bar.
If the head is rounded off, sometimes a similar metric socket, especially a 6-point will grab. For example, a 14mm is just a touch smaller, and fits tighter than a 9/16". Sometimes you can tap on a metric socket that will grip more tightly. If that won't work, a set similar to the Irwin linked a few posts back works well. They are a one way (off) socket that slips over and digs into the flats of the head with sharp, angled edges. Increasing torque makes them dig into the flats of the bolt head. I have a set, and are what I use for rounded off heads. They look like the picture below. Full sets of the smaller ones are between $20-$30, and are available at parts stores, Amazon, etc. Search for 'bolt extractor' or 'extractor socket'.
These sockets/extractors are for removing nuts/bolts with rounded off heads. If the bolt is truly frozen at the threads to the point the heads are rounding off, the impact is the first go-to, then if it is set on breaking, you can try days of penetrating oil... but HEAT is the go-to... and a propane torch won't cut it. You can often get the threads/interface RED HOT, and it will disable the rust bond, and the bolt will screw right out.
Good Luck